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Saturday, February 11, 2017

The Most Important Lesson From Becoming Warren Buffett

"Becoming Warren Buffett", the HBO documentary that aired in 30 January 2017 tells the story as well as dives deep into the daily life of Warren Buffett, the legendary successful investor and also one of the world richest person! #YourFinanceDoctor has always been a big fan of his, so surely, I would watch it right away.

The Most Important Lesson From "Becoming Warren Buffett"

Surround Yourself with the Right People

Parents (Okay, maybe you didn't get to choose this one)

Growing up as a child, Warren Buffett was being influenced by his father, Howard Buffett, the most. He was a stock salesman and then went on to start his own business, then finally a congressman. He taught Warren Buffett that money isn't important, he believes very much in having an "Inner Scorecard" and never worry about what other people are thinking about you. You know what you are doing and why you are doing and that's good enough. When Warren Buffett ran away from home, his father not only did not scold him but rather just said "You can do better than this." His father never taught him by telling him but taught him by example even when he screwed up.

Mentor

Then he met the Father of Value Investing, Benjamin Graham, who shaped his professional life. Which is why Warren Buffett came out with 2 Rules for Investing, Rule 1 - Never lose your money and Rule 2 - Never forget Rule 1. Value Investing is all about careful scrutiny of a company's financial report, and if you bought value, it will eventually prove out. So basically the investing philosophy of Warren Buffett centred around Benjamin Graham's Value Investing.

Friend/Partner

Later on, Warren Buffett met Charlie Munger, who formed partnership with and became the Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. Charlie Munger is an important partner to Warren Buffett, who Warren Buffett relied heavily on. Charlie Munger also ended Warren Buffett's "Cigar Butt" era where he bought a lot of cheap stock regardless of the company with lousy management. Then, he taught Warren Buffett to look for "Wonderful Company with Fair Price" rather than "Fair Company with Wonderful Price". From there on, Berkshire Hathaway skyrocketed.

Teacher

“The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too hard to be broken.” Warren Buffet used to be terrified of public speaking, he could not do it with his stage fright but he knew that if he didn't cure it then, he will never be able to do it. So he attended Dale Carnegie course, which works on developing the ability to speak in public. Warren Buffett knew that if he didn't attend the course, his whole life would be different. Which is why you will not see his degree certificate nor his master certificate on the wall of his office, but just the course certificate he gotten from Dale Carnegie.

Spouse

Warren Buffett's late first wife, Susie, played the most important role in his life and how invaluable she was to him. Warren Buffett was raised a Republican mainly because of his father, Howard Buffett. But because of Susie's actively involvement in the civil rights movement, and often brought him along to speeches and meetings, Warren Buffett became an active Democrat. Warren Buffett and Susie love each other very much, they admire each other and were totally in sync of what each other is doing. He also said that "Susie really put me together and she believes in me. Not only I turned out to be the person I turned out to be but I actually would not have a successful business without her, she made me more of a whole person. "

In conclusion...

"It's kind of crazy to spend your life painting if you're painting a subject you don't want to look at." Warren Buffett chose to work with a group of people that would make his life easy and take good care of him. So the people you surround yourself with, those you interact with regularly, will have a huge impact on you. They provide the opinions, ideas and even points of views that your mind is continuously subject to, both consciously and subconsciously. The good news is... the people who can help you succeed may already be around you, you just have to identify them!